Book Exchange Party

There are few things I love more than reading or hosting parties, adding them together was just so much fun! I decided to host a book exchange party. Everyone was asked to bring a copy of a loved book to give away as a gift. People did not like this idea, they didn't want to give away a book they loved. Well, I certainly don't want to be given a book that someone didn't like and just wants to get rid of! The point was to buy a book that you've read and loved so that this wasn't the equivalent of a white elephant exchange. This way no one was given "trash" and we could share what we love about the book when the person opens it.

It was really fun! And the nerd part of me had WAY more fun decorating then doing anything else! I really loved planning this party. I'd like to do it again sometime on a much larger scale.

As prideful as it sounds, I did not want to take this down! I wish I could have left it up for a very long time! Sadly the wall the table is pushed up against is actually double doors to my washer and dryer, so it couldn't last much longer.

Another thing to brag about is I barely bought anything just for the party. Most of this things I already owned! Like I said, I love books.

Here we have a Sherlock Holmes book with some footprints coming out of it. I pictured in my head in old cartoons when the detective would follow black footprints with a magnifying glass.

Next to it, you can see a little in the corner, is a plate of sugar cookies. They're all alphabet letters and frosted black. I called them "Typewriter Cookies".

 My Mom bought me this cake pan, it's actually 2 pieces. I've had fun making different book cakes in the past. One time I even made a Book of Mormon cake when we fed the missionaries. It was fun!









Here we have The DaVinci code along with Langdon's journal and the cryptex. There's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, one of my favorites, being "eaten" by a corner bookmark that looks remarkably like Harry himself! Pennywise is coming out of It and behind that is a special edition Lord of the Rings.

What's a book party without a message coming from the Capital? There's probably a roll in there with some weird message about kissing.

Next we have out Narnia collection with one of the bookends we have. You can see Mr. Tumnus by the light post.

Here we have, of course, The Hunger Games, an owl for Harry Potter, and more cookies! I pretty much made all cookies and then we had milk.

 My favorite touch to the decorations was the curled book pages I added to jars or wrapped the stands in. Some people got upset that I ruined a book but it was a super old fantasy book from Goodwill so it lived a good long life and is happier being a craft, I promise.

 You can see the other side of the Narnia bookends, my Hogwarts textbooks, and a key with wings. Don't touch a broom or it'll fly away!

More cookies! Like I said, we has a milk and cookie dessert bar.

As party favors I made many different bookmarks for people to pick and choose from. They're mostly made from paint chips that I got from a nearby Lowe's. 

I also wrote my own book trivia questions and had book-lights as prizes for the winners. I say winners because in this case it was a tie, but I had bought two just in case that happened. 

Somehow I did not keep a picture of the invitations. I got an idea for them on Pinterest here but changed it up a bit since I'm not as computer savvy. They were still cute. I downloaded a font that looked like an old typewriter to type everything in. Including all the place-cards on the dessert table. 

Here are the questions for trivia, not all of them are in complete sentences  because I'm the only one who needed to know what they meant. :) 

Where is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens set?

London and Paris

Who wrote A Christmas Carol?

Charles Dickens

Who created the one ring of power in Lord of the Rings?

Sauron

Who are the members of the Fellowship of the Ring?

Frodo, sam, merry, pippin, aragon, boromir, gimli, legolas, and Gandalf.

What book by Agatha Christie is about 10 people who are guilty in the death of others but were never convicted are put on an island together and starting dying off one by one?

And Then There Were None

Who are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy?

The main characters in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

What is the novel “She” by Henry Rider Haggard about?

A first person narrative that follows the journey or Horace Holly who finds a primitive race of natives in Africa who worship a white queen and the all-powerful She.

Who are Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu?

The main characters of Dan Brown’s The DaVince Code

Who wrote the catcher in the rye?

J.D. Salinger in 1951

What novel, written by Anna Sewell, was composed during the last years of her life while she was confined to her house as an invalid?

Black Beauty

What classic heroic novel by Richard Adams is about a small group of rabbits that possess their own culture and language?

Watership Down

Who saved the life of “some pig” named Wilber?

Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web

Whose garden did Peter Rabbit run through in The Tale of Peter Rabbit?

Mr. McGregor

What date is both Harry Potter’s birthday and J.K. Roawling’s birthday?

July 31

Who actually published the diary of Anne Frank after she died?

Her father, Otto Frank

Who is Atticus Finch?

The lawyer, and father of the narrator, in To Kill a Mockingbird

Where is Gone with the Wind set?

Clayton County, Georgia.

What year is the George Orwell book named after?

1984

What shark main character’s novel has sold over 20 million copies?

Jaws

Who is Tom Sawyers best friend?

Huckleberry Finn

What is the boy’s name in Where the While Things Are?

Max

What should you NOT forget to take with you in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?

A towel

In what decade was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory released?

1964

In what novel is Susie watching from heaven as her family as friends struggle with her death?

The Lovely Bones

Where is Panem?

The post-apocalyptic world the The Hunger Games is based in

Who is Lestat de Lioncourt?

A French nobleman vampire in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

Who is Christopher Robin’s best friend?

Winnie-the-pooh

Count Olaf ruins the lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny in what novels?

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Why do the Cullins live in Forks, Washington?

Statistically less sunlight.

What are the novels by Stephen King with a gunslinger main character?

The Dark Tower